I have outlined below some of the different travel timeframes in which most backpackers plan to complete a tour, plus the answers to more FAQ’s and dilemmas that travellers find themselves in. For example: How much should I budget for my trip to Australia? Is it easy to find work? How much could I expect to earn? Do I buy or rent a car? Is public transport or pre-organised tours the go? Do I fly to save backtracking over Australia’s long distances? What experience do I really want to get from my trip, etc, etc…

The 2 Week – 1 Month Traveller:

In Backpacker terms these people are often on the whirlwind tour and will naturally hit all the main icons, fly here and there, most likely to have nearly everything pre-booked, and normally don’t really have any budget constraints. Planning in advance for this trip I believe is essential for the major areas you want to visit in Australia, as time is not on your side. You must avoid back-tracking unless you’re in the air.

I would recommend that tours be left to be booked after arrival, this gives you a chance to investigate and read carefully the options available to you. Australia has a tour for nearly everything and often there are several companies doing the same route. Live it up as you can always pay off that credit card when you get home and back to work!

The 1-3 Month Traveller:

These travellers usually have a more defined but still generous budget and should have planned a general portion of their holiday, but without too much pre-booked accommodation or tours. There are a myriad of options available to them to cover the distances involved and to maximise their experience.

For example, I recommend that they don’t buy, but instead opt to rent a car or camper van for the major legs of their trip. (See the Transport section for a discussion of this)

If buying/renting is out of your budget then travelling like most do on the long-distance buses, is a cheap and effective way to do it. Australian coach and tour bus companies such as Greyhound, McCaffertys and Oz Experience have passes where you can hop off and on all the way around Australia. The only drawback is that this makes it hard to reach those un-spoilt special places along the way, plus you are travelling to their time schedule. I recommend a split between modes of transport for certain legs of your journey.

3 Months & Longer:

This is usually the traveller who wants to have a working holiday whilst travelling around Australia. They have no fixed plans and are very spontaneous as to where and when they might travel to next, whether it be looking for work or due to great new friends they have met along the way. They usually are very budget orientated and need work to supplement their travels. The most important points I can highlight are:

1. Be in the right part of the country during the correct season. Remember the southern hemisphere seasons are the reverse of those in the north; summer here is December-February, autumn/fall is March-May, winter is June-August and spring is September-November. For example, in the northern parts of the country November-April is typically classified as the “wet season”. During these months there is a great chance of tropical storms, permanent high humidity, stingers in the water (so no swimming) and a depleted number of travellers due to these reasons.

   Most travellers in Australia follow the sun and head north (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia) in the winter, returning south (New South Wales, A.C.T., Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia) for the summer.

2. The southern part of Australia during May-September has poor weather and the further south you go, the worse it gets. Despite popular images of Australia of the land of perpetual sun, it does get cold in the south in winter! Tasmania/Melbourne/Adelaide can be just as cold, wet, windy and grey as it gets in most parts of Europe or North America.

3. It is worth mentioning that if you’re truly budget conscious, some great savings can be made by travelling in the reverse cycle – i.e. north in summer and south in the winter. If you don’t mind the heat/cold, and want to avoid the crowds, then you can take advantage at the reduced rates and special promo deals that most backpackers hostels, travel companies and tour operators will be offering at these times.

4. Having your seasons worked out for fruit picking is also very important. Certain fruits and vegetables have different ripening times, so if you get a broad picture of harvesting seasons you can travel from region to region always being in the right place at the right time.

I guess from speaking with so many travellers, the thought of an endless summer is their ultimate dream, so if you plan on covering a fair bit of Australia, have a general idea of what area and what season you will be in. I see so many heading off to the wrong areas at the wrong times it’s amazing.

Next Page >> Transport – Buying Or Renting A Vehicle

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1. Travel Planning – Sit down with a good Australian map and plan (either loosely or in-depth depending on your time period) where you might want to visit in Australia. This is imperative as so many other factors evolve from this stage. Don’t believe anyone who says “just arrive and go from there”, as they are usually the ones who waste time and money.

   Have a naturally flowing direction, avoid backtracking (Australia is huge!) and look at air travel as a means of covering large distances. It has never been cheaper to fly throughout Australia than at present.

2. Travel Money, Visas & Backpackers Work – Establish in broad terms what it will cost to do what you want: e.g. accommodation, travel, food, tours, and party essentials. Don’t leave yourself short, there is nothing worse whilst travelling around than arriving at a destination icon and not being able to pass through the gates. It sounds stupid but it happens all the time.Eating noodles on toast and moping around a backpackers hostel won’t create the money. Working during your stay in Australia can help, and lots of travellers on working holiday visas do make money to further their travels, but this normally just sustains the continuous party most travellers seek. If you don’t think the money you have already saved will be enough, now is the time to work double-hard at home, crawl to your parents and/or get a large credit card limit to use as a final resort.For those travellers with a working holiday visa remember you can only get this once in your life, so I recommend that if you’re not sure of your prospects come over on a three month holiday visa, suss things out, and if all looks good you can pop over to New Zealand or a neighbouring South Pacific country and then get one.

   Also another very important point to remember (with the working holiday visa scheme) is that although you are probably very well educated and qualified, any one employer can only legally hire you for 6 months at a time, so the prospect of getting a great job is low. Most backpacker travellers in Australia get work labouring on building sites, waiting/cooking/cleaning in bars, restaurants and cafes (hospitality), serving in shops (retail), data entry, telephone sales or fruit picking. Three months fruitpicking (or similar rural-agricultural work) is the pathway to a 2nd-year working visa.

3. Optimal Timing – After determining that what you really want to do is within the realms of possibility, check seasonality and the major events calendar. These are two very important subjects because they will probably cause you to sit back down at the map… detours will be created, times will be changed, and the end result will make for an excellent trip. There is nothing worse than turning up to a place to find everybody saying “you should have been here last week”.Australia is very seasonal (climatic) due to the vast size of the country and there is an array of festivals and events you shouldn’t miss. To list all these would be way too time consuming and I’m sure most of the popular guide books list them together with the weather conditions expected at particular times.

4. Travel Guide Books – Buy a respected guide book and take in what they say. I know it’s hard to imagine a place until you have landed but this will help you. Backpacker travel market leaders are Lonely Planet, Rough Guide, Lets Go and BUG Australia.

5. Pack Lightly – Forget wearing the clothes you have to impress your friends back home, think universal and fashionably practical – unless that is you’re going to find a flat, and stay in an area for the whole trip then travel directly home. Travelling light gives you the freedom and will help you save money by being able to walk to a hostel from a drop-off rather than taking a taxi, bus etc.Having said this Australia’s backpacking network is geared so well that you rarely have to walk far at all. So that extra space can be kept for a souvenir or two. We do have shops over here so don’t think you have to pack everything for all occasions.A backpack is much better than a suitcase, far easier to carry and much more practical with multiple compartments. Most of the newer types have an integrated detachable ‘day pack’ which is useful for day trips having left the main pack back at the hostel. But if you do choose a case, ensure it is of the type that has wheels.

6. ‘Stop over’ in Asia En-route to Australia – This I believe is the most under-utilised option every traveller has. Virtually every flight from Europe stops to refuel in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok, so take advantage of this for little/no extra cost and have a look around. I would recommend a lengthy stay and explore as much of South East Asia as you can. For about the cost of a dormitory bed in Australia you will get a room, all meals at restaurants and a few beers to boot! They are all beautiful places to visit and the cost is low, plus it breaks that long flight up. Do you really want to sit in the same seat for 24 hours?

7. Airfares / Tickets – I understand that everybody wants the cheapest ticket possible, but that’s not really the way to go. If you’re stopping off in Asia, or don’t really know when you might go home, flexibility is worth a lot more than the extra price. Cheap tickets have hefty fees for changing dates/destinations; an English traveller friend of mine met a great European girl on Koh Tao Thailand, due to leave in the coming days he naturally wanted to stay longer. Since he had a flexible ticket he changed his flights nine times with no extra charge! If he had had a cheap ticket he basically would have had to cancel it it or pay a large alteration charge per change. It always seem to happen this way to travellers, I see it all the time. I think cheap fares should be left only for the one-way ticket straight home.

8. Medical Insurance / Vaccinations – Don’t forget your travel insurance and immunisation when travelling through Asia… ask my friend Tommy from Ireland who got hit with an AUD$750/day hospital bill in Bali!

Next Page >> Plan Your Trip According To Your Time Frame

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Registering A Vehicle in Australia (“REGO”) – Australia is a federal country and all eight states and territories have independent and differing laws – including licensing and registration rules. Registration (“Rego”) is the Australian state government tax allowing you to drive on the roads, each state having differing costs – in the region of $700-$1,000 annually.

Therefore if you have a car registered in New South Wales (NSW) and it expires when you are in another state then be prepared to drive back or pay high fees to have it transferred to that state. This will require the car to be closely examined at a Registry office where they usually find an insurmountable amount of repairs required before the transfer can take place. In practice interstate transfers are so difficult to be not worth consideration.

So the number one thing is to have a long “rego” period left before expiry so it lasts until you get back to the appropriate state. Selling an out-of-state registered car can be difficult to impossible.

Also make sure the car is road worthy enough to have it re-registered, otherwise you might be watching that scrap man take it away. And new buyers will pay more money for the car when you want to sell it.

Very few people buy a car and sell it for the same amount or more so be prepared to lose. I believe if you lose for e.g. $1,500 in six months then the rental you have paid is only $16.66 per day and divided by 2 or 3 passengers then that’s a bargain.

Vehicle Insurance – Car registration in Australia includes basic third-party (personal) insurance. So technically you (and anyone else) are legally covered to drive any registered car without additional vehicle insurance. However… any non-personal injury costs are not covered, so you are strongly advised to take out further third-party (vehicle), third party fire & theft, or comprehensive insurance. Costs of this are generally much cheaper here than (e.g.) in the U.K.

Next Page >> Backpackers Working In Australia

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• Have a general idea of what you want to see and achieve whilst in Australia

• Determine what money you have and what you can expect to earn

• Pack sensibly

• Have a stop over on the way here

• Think of which modes of transport are best for you over the different sections of Australia

• Check seasonality and major events calendar

• Beware of booking too much from home as there are thousands of options available when you land

• Have a credit card as many hostels or tours require the number to secure a booking in advance

• For long stays open a bank account in Australia, transfer most of your money into it and use a keycard for ATM withdrawals

• Buy a pre paid mobile phone in Australia, purchasable over the counter instantly. Don’t do global roaming as the bills will frighten you

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Backpacker hostel accommodation (this can range dramatically depending on location and quality of hostel) $25-$45 per night.
Take away food (meal size) $8-$12 Big Mac meal-deal $6-$7
Restaurant $20-$35
Petrol $1.30/L
Sydney “Day Tripper” pass: unlimited bus rail and ferries $16
Bus pass Sydney – Cairns: approx $400
1 case of 24 beers (375ml bottles) $30-$40
Wine 1×4 L cask (‘Goon’ cheap wine) $10
Loaf of bread $1.50-$2.00
Air ticket Sydney – Cairns $250 (one way) (3,000km not bad!)

*With the current (Oct 2010) devaluation of all the major currencies in the world and the rise of the Australian dollar, travellers are now saying that “it’s expensive over here”. Now it’s about being more budget-conscious, saving before you come or working whilst you’re here. I ‘did’ England at 33p:AUD$1 and Europe at Euro50c:AUD$1 so anything can be done! Travellers are also now saying that the wages in Australia are comparable to, or even better than, those back at home when doing the currency conversion. So “what are you waiting for?!”…

NextPage >> Australian Travel Tips Conclusion

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Visas – The Australian working holiday maker visa scheme now covers many countries around the world so check before you arrive – you may be eligible if you’re under 30 years old. It is only issued once in a lifetime so don’t get it if you’re not sure.

Some travellers start off with a tourist visa, decide if they like the possible work on offer and their experience in the country, and then take a quick cheap trip over to New Zealand to get it there. (You have to apply for this outside of Australia – but a return Sydney-Auckland flight can be obtained for as little as ~$350!)

Work Expectations – The visa only allows you to work for any one employer for a maximum of 6 months, so finding a career or more professional job like you might have back home or what you might have been trained for at university will be very difficult to get. Most of the jobs I see backpackers getting are labouring/construction for the guys and hospitality/retail for the girls.

Traditional jobs of last-resort in the cities are data-entry, and there are also those call centre or commission sale jobs, which might promise more than what they deliver. And if you are lucky enough to have your own transport you can always bank on a job delivering fast-food.

Qualifications & Training Courses – You naturally must bring a copy of your CV/resume. Also be prepared to do Australian industry “work-safe” type courses when you arrive. For example in NSW building site workers need construction site “white/green cards”, and any job connected with alcohol needs an “RSA” (responsible service of alcohol) certificate.

There are others – and note that most/all of these industry certifications are state-based, i.e. they might not be transferable (or even needed) in other states. These work training courses / certificates usually take 1 day to get and cost up to $100. (No-one ever “fails” – I don’t know if this is even possible!)

Don’t Run Out of Cash – The main thing to remember is don’t come to Australia without a float or back up money at home, because it might take time to find work and then time moving between other jobs. Also don’t think that you will earn $1,000′s which will pay for your holiday in style.

Most work will get you about $120 – $150 per day but 30% tax will be deducted. It is possible to later claim back some of the tax/deductions but the process is bureaucratically complicated and is usually only practical upon leaving Australia. The stories of travellers getting tax back are true but you must fulfill all the criteria; see a taxback agent to be sure.

Some travellers I met completely ran out of money but were lucky enough to get 2 jobs working 60-80 hours per week, earning $800-$1,200. But if you call working this hard “a holiday” I guess it can be done.

Seasonal Work Availability – I mentioned before the seasonality situation, which usually creates huge flows of backpackers arriving in certain parts of the country at certain times. If you’re looking for work you want to be arriving before the masses do. For example nearly every backpacker arrives in Sydney in November/December looking for work and readying themselves for the summer’s activities – this is a bad time to look for work.

The smart traveller to Australia should be here in September/October to cement their position, also December is the time when all university and high school students are shoring up their job prospects for the summer break. Arriving in September/October virtually guarantees you a pick of jobs, no-one who looks fails to find work at this time. There is little competition and most employers are hiring extra staff for the summer.

Conversely April/May is perhaps the worst time to be hunting for hospitality work as most employers will be laying off seasonal staff. Labouring jobs are going strong all year except from late-December to mid-January.

Working Holiday Makers Reputation – Furthermore a lot of very popular traveller destinations within Sydney have been scarred by the thoughtless past traveller. This is the person who promises an employer the world and then delivers nothing, usually taking off without notice leaving the business owner high and dry. I have heard travellers tell me that businesses in these areas have signs offering jobs but “not to travellers”. That is why it is better sometimes to look in those less known destinations — like Cronulla!

Where To Find Work in Australia – It is usually the bigger cities like Sydney NSW, Melbourne Vic and Brisbane / GoldCoast Qld that have the best work opportunities and pay rates, and to a lesser extent the smaller state capitals Perth WA, Adelaide SA and Canberra ACT. The popular coastal traveller destinations such as Byron Bay, Harvey Bay and Cairns have enough locals looking for work to fill the vacancies. Byron Bay for example has a local population of 5,000 and has approx 300,000 visiting travellers per year. Do the maths!

If you are fortunate enough to pick up work outside the major metropolitan areas – remember that the pay will almost always be considerably lower – you’ll be in an employers’ market. Whilst pay might be lower, that is true in general of for other prices too – things are cheaper regionally. For these reasons it is better to “work in the south, spend in the north”.

Fruit picking in regional areas is also a good source of finding work, but is normally hard going and low pay. There are many hostels that specialise in these areas and design accommodation / transport and work packages. But because these areas are so boring most of the travellers spend their wages drowning their sorrows at night and don’t save anything. There are always travellers who find themselves stranded in small rural towns, struggling to save enough to move on to their next destination.

Extended Work Visas – A recent change to the working holiday visa scheme is the possibility of a second year subsequent to the first, dependent upon having worked as a “seasonal worker in regional Australia for a minimum of three months” whilst on the first year’s visa. The definitions of both “seasonal work” and “regional Australia” are quite strict – see the Australian Government website for more details…

Next Page >> A Guide To Living Expenses In Australia
Related Page >> Cronulla Beach YHA Sydney backpackers hostel jobs info…

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Travellers Driving In Australia - As an overseas visitor, you are allowed to drive in Australia for the duration of your visa. (You must carry your licence with you at all times whilst driving.) If you obtain residency you must gain an Australian (state) licence within three months.

Buying A Car In Australia - Lots of people ask me about buying a car or van in Australia. This can be either the best or worst decision you will make during your travels. Most travellers’ budgets range between $1,000 and $3,500 which is naturally at the lowest end of the market and cars in this price range can be fraught with danger, but if you get a reliable one the benefits are fantastic.

Before you buy a car in Australia you can check for the current market value at various places. One well known car guide website is The Redbook.

There are so many different ways to buy a car in Australia and I will list a few:

1. Car auctions – this is the cheapest way to buy a car, as this is where the dealers get them from. Usually they have no reserve price and you cannot pre-drive them or even mechanically inspect them. If you really think you know a bit about cars, go to the various Sydney auctions and get yourself a bargain!

   Having said this, most travellers won’t go there because it is a completely foreign world to all of us who have never been involved in the car industry. Garson, a Canadian guy who now calls Cronulla home, did go to the auctions and nabbed himself a great bargain. Some others have not been so lucky. It’s “your call”!

2. Backpacker car markets - Australia’s largest is in Sydney at Kings Cross – The local council allows travellers to sell their cars in a parking station and there are usually many to choose from. This is where you will find many sad faced travellers trying to sell their cars before flying on to their next destination.

   Pre-drives and mechanical inspections are negotiable direct with owners. Naturally they are trying to get as much as they can but are secretly stressing-out as that they only have two weeks / two days / two hours before they leave Australia. If you can detect their desperation and make a ridiculous offer you might get lucky. These cars have usually gone around Australia several times past their normal life expectancy, and as you can imagine, most backpackers on a budget will not service them correctly so the risk could be high.

   A car wrecker once said to me that he takes about 100 cars per week from around Kings Cross and the airport long-term car park to the scrap metal yard – the cars that departed backpackers failed to sell prior to their flying out.

3. Buying a car privately - This option offers the chance of excellent savings, but also the danger of financial disaster. The old saying “buyer beware” is paramount as there are no warranties and no comebacks – once you have paid the money, that’s it. Only consider this option if you or a travelling partner knows a lot about cars and can reliably inspect your prospective purchase yourselves.

   Even then I would recommend additionally paying $30-$50 to have it independently inspected by a local garage. I have seen many people saved at the last minute by an inspection report that reveals the car they were about to part with thousands of dollars for was in fact a “lemon” worth less than a tenth of this. Having said that I believe there are sound bargains to be found…

   The “Trading Post” – this is a Sydney weekly publication that has thousands of cars in it every week. The only problem is, in Sydney most of those cars in your price bracket are located in the city’s western suburbs, which can be a time consuming exercise inspecting several cars using public transport, not to mention booking it into an inspection station or mechanic to have it checked out. (Other cities will have their equivalent publications and car-centric suburbs.)

   Hostel and Internet Café Noticeboards – Sydney has over 70 backpacker hostels, and innumerable internet cafes. All will have noticeboards peppered with flyers for vehicles. All the previous cautionary advice applies…

   Anthony, a Welsh backpacker who stayed with us some years ago once bought a car in Perth, from a departing backpacker in a hostel for a couple of hundred dollars. He then discovered that fourth (top) gear didn’t work, and had to drive across the country heading for Sydney in third gear at a top speed of ~70kph (~45mph) with the engine screaming. He did well, making it nearly to Adelaide before it exploded!

   The best type of car is the 4-door family sedan. I know it’s not a van so you can’t sleep in it, but it’s reliability I’m stressing and the money you would save compared to buying a dud is amazing. Note that if you think you want to buy a van and convert it to a basic camper just bear in mind that it is probably an ex-commercial delivery van that has done hundreds of thousands of kilometres and is ready to fall apart. These vans are usually full of rust and have tiny 4 cylinder engines that quickly overheat on long hard journeys.

4. Backpacker specialised car dealers - yes, they are making a profit out of you but generally speaking their buy-back systems are good value, plus you know they have fully serviced and re-registered the car for a long period of time, have a national service network, and can arrange insurance etc. to make sure you have a trouble-free journey.

   Most of these car dealers offer up to a 40% buy back and want you to spread the word to other travellers along the way. There have been quite a few travellers that have bought cars this way and all have been quite pleased. However note that even though the dealers are buying the car back, any damage, punctures or out of the ordinary maintenance items will have to be met by you.

Renting a vehicle – There are lots of car rental companies offering great deals to travellers for extended rentals. Naturally it depends on the size of the vehicle and the time of the year but the advantage you have is that they are almost brand new, have national roadside assistance, top quality facilities, and a no-hassle approach to travel.

Larger car rental companies also have drop offs in the major cities/towns so you don’t need to waste time backtracking. There are also specific backpacker car dealers that have very cheap long-term rental rates for older cars. If you wish to research before you arrive search the web for these companies and pre-arrange a deal over the net.

Next Page >> Australian Vehicle Registration (“REGO”) & Car Insurance

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